Belong
by Lionheart Rising
Summary: A fic about the three fallen knights from the perspective of the remaining knights and some others. No slash. No flames if you review.
1. Chapter 1

Old habits die hard, and Galahad finds it strange now to stand next to Woads without having to kill them. He finds it odd that Arthur is a king and married to a Woad. And he finds it odd that he's still on, in Gawain's words, "This wretched island." And that all of his brothers but Gawain, Bors, and Arthur are gone.

The knights now have any number of Woad scouts, but none of them can match Tristan. Tristan's silence made him ideal for the position, and without him, it is strange to go on missions. Everyone misses the scout's presence, merely for the fact that you knew someone was watching out for you. He may have been impersonal as all get out, but he was their brother, and they missed him.

Dagonet was also silent, but in a different way. He was a hardened warrior, but he could love. The boy, Lucan, is known as Dagonet's. Dagonet, who had no son to carry on his name now has one. Dagonet would have given his life for his brothers, and he wouldn't have chosen to die any other way. The way he said; 'Here, now,' when they went to engage the Saxons had struck at Galahad, but he'd never known why. Now he did. It seemed that Dagonet knew he would die.

Lancelot. Other than Bors, the loudest among them. Always ready with a sarcastic remark, he and Arthur had been brothers, in the same sense that Gawain and Galahad himself were, and like Bors and Dagonet. Lancelot had given Bors no amount of grief about some of Bors children being his, but Galahad alone knew the truth. Vanora had told him. Her children were no one but Bors's, and Lancelot had only ever said it to drive Bors mad.

None of them know why they've stayed. Perhaps they feel a duty to Arthur, who gave them their freedom. Perhaps it is because they do not know what they will find back in Sarmatia. But in the end, they don't want to leave. This land is where their brothers are, the land they have watered with their blood and the blood of its native people. As Guinevere said; "I belong to this land." Perhaps that is the case with them now.

Since they decided to stay, Galahad's complaints have moved from the land and climate to merely normal things. It seems that the land is growing on them. Bors likes the rain, for it reminds him of scouting trips he would once have liked to forget. Now, he holds the memories close, even though they cause him pain.

It is foolish, but anytime one of them sees an apple, they are reminded of Tristan. Anytime they see Lucan, they miss Dagonet. Anytime they see someone playing dice, they think of Lancelot. There are a hundred reminders of all their fallen comrades. There were once many of them, and now there are few. At the end, it was those most loyal to Arthur who fell. Only Gawain, one of those few, lived on.

It is hard for Bors, without his brother, and Arthur without his. Galahad and Gawain realize how lucky the two of them are, to still be living. Bors has remarked that it is lucky that Gawain isn't gone, for only he can reign in Galahad's complaints. He never says how jealous he is, that Dagonet isn't there with his gentle smile and fierce looks.

But they go on. They'll fight Saxons when needed, they'll support Arthur's reign, and they'll defend the people of Briton. Because this is their land now; they belong to it, just as sure as their brothers lie in its soil.

**A.N. My first King Arthur fanfic! Review and tell me what you think, but just constructive criticism, no flames please.**


	2. Chapter 2

Vanora never thought she would miss Lancelot's flirting, but she would give almost anything to have it back, if only because it would mean that the dark knight was not gone. She considers it a good thing that Arthur has Guinevere now, because if he did not, she is not sure if Arthur would last long as king. Lancelot was Arthur's brother, there to point out flaws in plans and to lighten Arthur's ever serious demeanor. He kept him from brooding too much.

The tavern is quieter now, with only Galahad, Gawain, and Bors. Vanora misses the seductive way Lancelot would irritate her tavern girls, if only because it was a laugh. More people than the knights are sad at the man's passing.

She has more apples now. Tristan was always the one who ate them the most, and it is a good thing she has eleven children, or they would go to waste. She always saved one for him, no matter what. He never thanked her, but the brief light in his amber eyes was thanks enough. Even now, when they have been gone for many months, she still has an apple tucked away, as if she were waiting for him.

She has heard rather than seen the keening cry of Isolde, the hawk that seemed about as much a part of him as his sword or his bow. Vanora once caught Four sitting with the creature perched on her arm, feeding her a piece of dried meat. Vanora was so shocked that she dropped the bucket of water she was carrying, startling Isolde away. She later learned that Tristan had let Four feed Isolde and let her perch on her arm.

Vanora had never realized how much Four had been around Tristan. Four was, of all her children, the quietest and most introverted, so it was no surprise that Four should take a liking to the quietest knight. What was surprising was how much Tristan taught her. Four could now track, shoot and befriend wild animals almost as well as the scout. It is no surprise when Four returns home late at night with twigs in her hair, ripped skirts and a big smile on her face.

And then there's Dagonet. A man she herself loved as a brother merely for the fact that she trusted him to look after her lover. A giant, with a gentle heart and hands, who could kill woads and hold her children like they were the most precious of gems. So fierce he looked, with his scarred face and his giant size.

Vanora had not been able to see the way the gentle giant cared for the woad boy, but the way Lucan seems to have adopted Dagonet's silent presence is enough. Bors insists that they pay some mind to the boy, who wears Dagonet's clan ring around his neck, but Vanora would have anyway. He is polite, quiet and causes less trouble than even Four. Every time she gives him something to eat, he smiles just like Dagonet, almost as if he were Dag's son.

But now, when her tavern is quiet and she has yet to go home, she looks around to the old spots that used to be haunted by knights. Not just the three who died in their last few days of service, but the ones who passed on long before.

If the pain is too bad for the knights to handle, they will drink themselves into oblivion at their little table in the back. Because there is no more Dagonet to help her get Bors or the others home, she leaves them where they are now, settling herself next to Bors, trying not to cry. In the morning, when her eyes are slightly red, Bors brushes a hand across her cheek in an attempt to comfort her.

And late at night, when Bors feels the acute pain of the loss of his brothers, she lets him hold her close and she murmurs sweet nothings in his ears. When he finally falls asleep, she holds him close instead, keeping her own sorrow at bay. She heals him as well as herself, waiting for the day when her own sons will grow up and become brave knights like their predecessors. Bors' children are strong, and they are even stronger because of who their mother is. She is not a knight, but she has learned the sorrow through the pain of those she has come to count as brothers and through her lover.

Still, she will be strong. Their deaths will not be in vain, and she will make sure that the rest of the knights and their leader keep living.

**A.N. Thanks to my reviewers of last chapter. I love opening my email account and seeing something from fanfiction. This will hopefully be a drabbly-ish fic. Not sure how many chapters there will be, but stay tuned.**

**-Dryad Queen**


	3. Chapter 3

Lucan knows he is like Dagonet. He doesn't know why he knows, only that he does. Perhaps it is because he sometimes sees Bors look at him differently, or when Vanora hugs him, she gets an odd look on her face. Gawain, or as Lucan secretly sees him, The Lion, likes Lucan. He lets him groom his horse, and sometimes he too gets a sad smile on his face. Gawain tells Lucan that one day he'll be a knight, wielding Dag's sword and wearing his clan ring.

Gilly and Lucan are of the same age, and even though Gilly is a bit of a bully and prone to fighting, he and Lucan get along famously. Vanora sometimes cries to herself at night, remembering another brotherhood, that of Bors and Dagonet. It seems as if the son of Bors needs someone to temper him just like his father. Who more perfect for the role than the boy who may as well have been Dag's son?

Of the fallen knights, Dagonet was the only one Lucan really knew, so he has had no experience with the scout or the dark knight. Four has told Lucan about the scout, and the way her eyes shine when she describes him are enough to make Lucan like him. Tristan seems like he would've been a good man to know, even if everyone says he was taciturn and impersonal. But though the words are harsh, they're spoken with reverence and longing.

While in life, Tristan was left mostly to himself, or so Lucan has heard, and he thinks that the scout would probably have liked it. Four is of a similar disposition, and she is is a favorite among the Woads who now live at the wall. She is well on her way to becoming one of the best scouts in Arthur's kingdom. She is more than a match for some of the boys, and she has the natural grace always attributed to Tristan. Four learned much from Tristan, and Vanora and Bors are glad that there is someone else who knew Tristan as well as they did. Everyone deserves to have their name passed on, and Four is the perfect one to do so.

And then there's the dark knight. Lucan has never known him, but he knows he was down there in the dark. He was the one who found Guinevere and brought Arthur to help. Lucan remembers the flash of twin blades in the torchlight, and the gurgling cry of one of the monks as he fell to the cold ground. Lucan doesn't consider his death a great loss.

But he knows that the dark knights loss was an enormous one. He needs only watch people's faces when they speak of him. Arthur, married to the girl Lucan considers his big sister, always gets an anguished look on his face when the dark knight Lancelot is mentioned. Guinevere too, but her her eyes always have a spark of mischief. Lucan knows that Guinevere had thought Lancelot was funny, and he'd seen that she was more than a match for his wit.

Lucan doesn't know if he would have liked the dark knight, but he wishes all the same that he hadn't died, as everyone seems to miss him. Vanora speaks of him as being a womanizing idiot, but as when Tristan is described as being taciturn and impersonal, the words are spoken with reverence and longing.

Really though, there was more to all of the fallen knights than anyone knew. Tristan wasn't as impersonal as they made him out to be. Anyone who talks to Four can tell you that. Lancelot wasn't just a flirt. He was wise beyond his years and a great fighter. And Dagonet was more than a giant. He was a gentle giant, with kind hands and a gentle smile.

All of the knights are missed for different reasons. But in the end it's the loss of the things that made them irritating that almost makes their deaths unbearable. Lucan can see that losing something that was always there is harder than anyone cares to admit.

But Lucan is a smart boy, and through the haze of fever, he remembers Dagonet calling him brave. And so he will be, because Dagonet is his hero, and Lucan wants to live, and become as great a knight as he had been. Arthur said that he would be big enough one day, and Lucan believes him.

**So, this chappy was a little more Dagonet-centic, but since I wanted to do one from the way Lucan would see things, I know that he wouldn't have known Tristan and Lancelot that well. But, I did the best I could, and I'd love if you'd review and tell me what you think. :D **

**-Dryad Warrior Queen**


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